Control device for plural fluid motor operation



Sept. 26, 1950 A. s. RITTER 2,523,521

CONTROL DEVICE FOR PLURAL FLUID MOTOR OPERATION' Filed Dec. 26, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet l Fi .2; v J8 e7 33 57 55 2 if 24 27 4s I611 36 Z OINVENTOR. ALEX .S, R/TTER ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1950 A. s. RITTER 2,523,521

CONTROL DEVICE FOR PLURAL FLUID MOTOR OPERATION Filed Dec. 26, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 38 3 JNVENTOR.

ALEX s. R/TTEI? BY r o 1 l 86 A r TOR/V5 Y Patented Sept. 26, 1950UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTROL DEVICE FOR PLURAL FLUID MOTOROPERATION Alex S. Hitter, San Rafael, Calif. Application December 26,1947, Serial No. 793,987

- Claims. 1

This invention relates to a hydraulic control device or hydraulicswitch.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic controldevice in the nature of a hydraulic'switch which is capable ofselectively directing flow or'pressure to selected lines, maintainingthe other lines closed with safety and ease of operation.

The features of my invention are:

The provision of a rotary drum type hydraulic switch which, with itscross passages, opens only one avenue of escape or passage for the fluidat one time into a system and maintains the other lines inactive; theprovision of a manipulating and actuating mechanism which prevents theapplication of pressure to the system unless the system is operativelyconnected to a selected line; the automatic safety of the system throughsaid mechanism which prevents the pressure to break the lines; theselective adaptation of the hydraulic control device for use as anoutlet flow control from tanks or the like, and in other adaption as acontrol for hydraulically operated power devices; and the adaptabilityof the device for a series of controls in multiple units,

I am aware that some changes may be made in the general arrangements andcombinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in the detailsof the construction thereof without departing from the scope of thepresent invention as set forth in the following specification, and asdefined in the following claims; hence I do not limit my invention tothe exact arrangements and combinations of the said device and parts asdescribed in the said specification, nor do I confine myself to theexact details of the construction of the said parts as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will be mademanifest in the following detailed description reference is had to theaccompanying drawings for the illustrative embodiment of the invention,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of the application of my devicein a system' for two hydraulic cylinders.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view of the device adaptedas an outlet control for gasoline or oil tanks and the like.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a modified form of the device with'a multipleseries of passages through its drum working through a multiple series ofoutlets on the cylinder.

Fig. 4 is an illustrative embodiment of the device in combination with atire removing tool and it two hydraulic cylinders.

Fig. 5 is a side view partly in section, of the manual actuating orcontrol element for the device.

In my device a cylinder 6 'has a bottom 1 at one 2 end thereof. Theother end of the cylinder is covered by a top plate 8 suitably securedin place and provided with a central bearing hub 9. Inside of thecylinder 6 is a rotatable or rotor drum I I which is also cylindricaland fits in the inner periphery of the cylinder I5. From the rotor drumI I extends a central shaft I2 through suitable packing glands I3 in thebearing hub,9 wherebythe rotor drum II may be turned about its axis inthe cylinder 6.

A system of passages is provided in the rotor drum II. The periphery ofthe cylinder 6 is also provided with a system of ports arranged atsuitable angles to be aligned with the respective passages in the rotordrum I I according to selectively adjusted positions of the latter. Inthe illustrative embodiment of my invention herein, I provide adiametrical passage Ill and a pair of substantially arcuate passages I5and i6 spaced on each side from said diametrical passage, the ends I'I,I8, I9 and 2| of which latter are substantially at 45 with respect tothe diametrical passage I4. Around the periphery of the cylinder 6 arearranged eight equally spaced ports 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 21, 28 and 29.The object generally is to rotate the rotor drum II in such a mannerthat its passages in use at the particular operation align with suitableports, and the ports of the cylinder are connected into a conduit systemwhereby all pressure or flow can be thus switched according to theadjusted angle or position of the rotor drum II. I The switching systemherein described can be extended to furnish control to a comparativelylarge number of units to be controlled. An illustration of suchextension is shown in Fig.3, wherein the cylinder is provided with twosets of ports spaced from one another wherein the ports in set A areoffset with respect to the ports in set B so that the ports of the firstset A are approximately .in line with the middle of the distance betweenthe ports of the second set E. The drum in that instance is furnishedwith another set of passages in the same manner as the first setheretofore described except that the passages are in spaced planes andare also offset 22 with respect to the previous passages. In such aunita different control adjustment can be accomplished for each 22 angleturn of the rotor drum II in the cylinder 6.

Another feature of my invention is that no pressure or flow can be putthrough the passages and into the system of conduits connected to theports of the cylinder, unless and until the rotor.

is switched to a position of exact alignment with one of the systemsconnected to the cylinder. This is accomplished by an actuating elementsuch as the actuating lever 3I which is pivoted on a base 32 and isconnected by a link 33 to an actuating lever 34 for actuating the fluidflow or pump pressure to any of the systems upon the movement of thelever 3| from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 to the positionshown in broken lines in the same figure. However, the end lever 3|could not be moved into this system operating position unless theadjusting element of the fluid switch is adjusted to an alignment to oneof the systems connected to the oil switch. In the present ilustrationon the end of the drum shaft |2 is an adjusting disc 36 in the peripheryof which are a plurality of slits 31. Each slit 3'! is of sufficientwidth to accommodate therein the hand lever 3| in the lowered position.The slits 3! are cut into the disc 36 at such angles and circumferentialspacing that when one of the slits 3'! is aligned with the hand lever3|, then one of the passages in the drum I is suitably aligned with aselected set of ports on the cylinder 6 and thus connected to selectedconduits for operation. The disc 36 has markings thereon adjacent toeach slit 3'! to indicate the connection when the particular slit 3! isaligned with the hand lever 3|.

For selection, the operator turns the disc 36 in order to bring theproperly marked slit 31 into aligned position with the hand lever 3| andthen pulls the lever 3| into the aligned slit to render the systemoperative through the selected passages of the drum as heretoforedescribed. In order to vary the operation, the lever 3| is lifted out ofthe slit 3'! and another slit 3! is aligned with the hand lever 3| andthe actuation is repeated in this second selected position. A spring 38is provided to pull the hand lever 3| back into inoperative position sothat when the operator releases the hand lever 3|, it automaticallydisengages from the disc 36 and shuts off further operation of thedevice. This renders the operation safe and prevents continuing motionwhile the operator is away from the machine. The

spring 38 is secured on the casing 4| and to the' lever 34 for pullingthe lever 34 into inoperative position and thereby pushing the handlever 3| out of the slit 3?.

As an illustration of the operation of the fluid switch herein describedin Figs. 1, 4 and 5, the use of my fluid switch is shown in connectionwith two hydraulic plungers utilized in the tire removing device, whichis described in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 642,323,filed January 19, 1946. The tire removing device denoted in its entiretyby the reference numeral 46 has a frame 41 on the top of which is ahydraulic cylinder 48, in which works a piston, the rod 49 of whichcarries a suitable mechanism 56 for pushing a tire off a rim. The rim issupported on a post 5|, which post in turn is mounted on a carriage 52on the bottom of said frame 41 and is movable in and out so as to carrythe rim into and out of the machine. This carriage 52 is operated byanother hydraulic plunger device 53. My hydraulic switch and device aremounted on the frame 41 at one side in an out'of the way position asindicated by the position of the disc 36 at one side of the machine inFig. 4. A hydraulic pressure conduit is connected to the cylinder 48 andto the cylinder 53 for the respective operations. The disc 36 is markedat the respective slits In and Up and Down and Out respectively toindicate the movement of the post 5| inwardly to operative position, themovement of the pushing device upwardly and away from the tire, themovement of the carriage and post 5| outwardly from the machine, and thedownward movement of the pushing device 52. The operation in thesevarious positions will be better understood upon the examination of thesystem connected to the cylinders as illustrated by the diagram in Fig.1.

When the unit is used for the purpose of operating and controllinghydraulic plungers, the central passage i4 is plugged at least at oneend, as indicated by the plug 54, so as to render the diametric passagel4 inoperative and limit the operation to the angular passages l5 andI6. In the vertical cylinder 48 works the piston 56. As shown in Fig. 1,the port 51 on the top of the vertical cylinder 48 is connected by apipe 58 to the drum cylinder port 24. The bottom port 59 of thisvertical cylinder 48 is connected by a pipe 6| to the drum cylinder port28 which is diametrically opposite, namely 180 from the first drumcylinder port 24. The horizontal port carrying hydraulic cylinder 53 hasits top port 62 connected by a pipe 63 to the drum cylinder port 2'!which is about 45 in clockwise direction from the drum cylinder port 28.The bottom port 64 of the horizontal cylinder '53 is connected by a pipe66 to the drum cylinder port 23 which is diametrically opposite theprevious drum cylinder port 21. Drum cylinder ports 25 and 26 at the topof the drum cylinder, are alternate ports located between the topconnection port 24 for the vertical cylinder 48 and the top connectionport 2'! for the horizontal cylinder 53. These alternate power orpressure ports 25 and 26 are connected by pipes 61 and 68 respectivelyto a pressure delivery pipe or conduit 69 which has a pressure gauge 1|connected thereinto to indicate the pressure on the lines. This pressureline 69 is connected to the outlet passage 12 of a gear pump l3 in thepump casing 4|. The low pressure drum cylinder ports 22 and 29 arelocated between the bottom ports 23 and 28 respectively for the workingcylinders 53 and 48. Pipes 16 and 11 connect together to a reservoir 18which in turn is connected by a pipe 7 9 to the intake passage 8| ofsaid gear pump 13. Between the reservoir 18 and the pressure line 69 isinterconnected a pre-adjusted relief valve 82 as a safety measure tobypass extreme dangerous pressure. The gear pump 73 is suitably driven,for instance, as illustrated in Fig. 4, by an electric motor 10 andtransmission 15.

The gear pump 13 pumps the fluid from the intake passage 8| into theoutlet passage 12. Between these passages BI and 12 is a transversebypass passage 83 which bypass passage is obstructed at the intakepassage 12 by a gate valve 84. This gate valve 84 is pivoted on afulcrum shaft 86 which extends outwardly and is keyed to the end of thelever 34, heretofore described, so that when the lever 34 is pulledupwardly the gate valve 84 is moved downwardly to uncover the bypasspassage 83 and block the pressure or intake passage 12. Thus when thehand lever 3| is out of the disc 36, the gear pump 13 circulates throughits own bypass 83 and recirculates the I fluid without deliveringpressure to the pressure line 69. Whenever the proper alignment'of aslit 3'! of the disc 36 is accomplished and the hand lever 3| is pulleddown and held down in the slit 3?, the link 33 is pushed down and thelever 34 is also turned down, lifting the gate valve 84 up into theposition shown in Fig. 1, blocking the bypass 8| and opening thepressure passage 12, so that the pump 13 delivers the fluid underpressure to the pressure line 69.

Thus in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 when the disc 36 is in the Upposition and the end of the lever 3| is held in the Up slit 31, thefluid under pressure passes from the pump to the pressure line 69, theninto the alternate pressure intake 68 and to port 26 and then throughpassage I5 and the outlet port 28 and pipe 6| to the bottom port 590ithe vertical cylinder 48 so as to exert pressure on the piston 56 andlift the piston rod 49 and the device 50 thereon upwardly. As soon asthe hand lever 3| is released. and pulled up by its spring, the gatevalve 84 in the pump is closed and the pump circulates within itself,without any action on the system. Then if the disc 35 is turned to aposition where the next slot marked In is in alignment with the handlever 3i, and the hand lever 3| is pulled into this In slit 31, then theposition of the passages I5 and I6 having been shifted 45 in clockwisedirection, the alternate intake port 25 is connected to the outlet port2! and the bottom line 63 connects the pressure to the bottom 62 of thehorizontal cylinder 53 and moves the piston therein inwardly. If thedisc 36 is rotated another 45 in clockwise direction, and aligns theDown slit 31 with the'hand lever 3!, then the connection is between thealternate intake port 26 of the pressure line to the alternate outletport 24, and through the pipe 58 to the top of the vertical cylinder 48to apply pressure for thedown movement, while the bottom port 59 and itspipe 6| are connected through the port 28 and passage I6 to the bypassport 22.

Another 45 turn brings the Out slit 31 of the disc 35 in alignment withthe hand lever 3|, and brings the passage I5 into connection between thealternate intake port 25 and delivery port 23 so as to connect pressureto the bottom line 66 and the bottom port 64 of the horizontal cylinder53. The other passage I5 at this time connects the intake port 21 to thebypass port 29 for bypassing from the top of the cylinder 53 back to thereservoir I8. The alignments are accurate because otherwise the handlever 3i could not be moved down and the bypass gate valve 84 could notbe closed and pressure would not build up in the line 59. Thereforecomplete safety and facility of operation is provided with easyselection and manipulation.

The form shown in Fig. 2 illustrates an arrangement for another use ofthe. hydraulic switch herein described. In this instance, the arcuatepassages I5 and I6 are plugged by plugs 9| so that the only passage inoperation is the unplugged diametrical central passage I4. In thisinstance, pipes 92, 93, 94 and 99 connect respectively to ports 24, 25,25 and 21 of the drum cylinder 6. These pipes are connected, for

instance, to four gasoline or oil tanks in the usual gasoline deliverytruck or the like. The other four ports 23, 22, 29 and 28 respectivelyare connected by four short pipes 91, 98, 99 and II respectively to anarcuate chest I02 and to an outlet spout I93. In the position shown inFig. 2, the intake pipe 95 is connected to the horizontal passage I4 anddrains the, tank or container connected to the pipe 96. In order toconnect the outlet to any one of the other tanks, the drum I I isrotated, for instance, in a clockwise direction and at each 45 turn itwill connect to a different pipe which then drains into thecorresponding short pipes and to the outlet at the bottom. In the eventof a series of sets of ports as shown in Fig. 3, a similar system ofpiping would be arranged on the second row of ports but ofiset 22%? fromthe system heretofore described so that at each 22 turn of the drum 6 adifferent container is connected to an outlet for draining. This allowsa quick selection for draining any selected tank; for instance, in adelivery gas truck, where at the present time, complicated valve systemshave to be used for the closing and opening of the various tanks.

The device herein described is very easily converted from the actuationof hydraulic plungers as herein described for various purposes wherehydraulic plungers may be used. It is adapted to be used with two ormore hydraulic plungers according to the need for multiple control. Thedevice is quickly adjustable to selected combinations of positions andis observable and safe. The device can be converted from its use as ahydraulic plunger control to a control for the dischargingof multipletanks or containers, by

simply plugging the arcuate passages of the 1. A fluid flow controldevice, comprising a cylindrical casing, a drum rotatable in the casing, a plurality of transverse passages in said drum having theiropenings on the periphery of said drum, a plurality of ports leadingfrom said cy1inder,'said openings of said passages and said ports onsaid cylinder being substantially equally spaced circumferentially forelective alignment of said passages with said ports according to therelative angular position of said drum and said cylinder, and a systemof conduits being connected to said ports for conducting the flowthrough selected drum passages, a fluid pump connected to certainconduits 0f said system for conveying fluid under pressure, otherconduits of said system being connected to the intake of said fluid pumpfor return flow, a bypass circuit to bypass said fluid under pressurefrom said pump, a normally open valve adapted to close said bypasscircuit, and the remaining ports and conduits being connected to devicesoperable by said fluid pressure, an adjusting element extended from thedrum for adjusting the position of the drum, means on said element toindicate the position of alignment of the respective passages of saiddrum with respect to the ports of said cylinder, and an actuator memberconnected to said valve being movable for permitting a buildup ofpressure by said pump through said conduit system, said actuator elementand said indicator means coacting to allow actuating movement of saidmember only when said indicating elements indicate an aligned positionof said drum passages with respect to ports corresponding to saidindication.

2. In a fluid control device of the character described, a cylinder, aplurality of ports on said cylinder being spaced circumferentiallysubstantially at 45 apart, a pair of transverse passages on each half ofsaid drum, the opening of each of said passages being apart from theends of the other passage, two pairs of diametrically opposite portsbeing connected to the intakes of hydraulically actuated devices, andthe two other diametrically opposite pairs of ports being connected to afluid pressure circulating system, an adjusting member for adjustingand'indicating members on said element for indicating the position ofalignment of said drum passages with a set of said ports, a controlmechanism for said pressure circulating device normally bypassing saidpressure from said system Of passages, said mechanism including anactuating element, said actuating element coacting with said indicatingmeans for actuation onl when said indicating means are in a positioncorresponding to an alignment of said drum passages with a set of ports.

3. In a fluid control device of the character described, a cylinder, aplurality of ports on aid cylinder being spaced circumferentiallysubstantially at 45 apart, a pair of transverse passages on each half ofsaid drum, the openings of each of said passages being 96 apart from theends of the other passage, two pairs of diametrically opposite partsbeing connected to the intakes of hydraulically actuated devices, andthe two other diametrically opposite pairs of ports being connected to afluid pressure circulating system, an adjusting member for adjusting andindicating members on said element for indicating the position ofalignment of said drum passages with a set of said parts, a controlmechanism for said pressure circulating device normally bypassing saidpressure from said system of passages, said mechanism including a handlelever, said indicating member being engageable by said handle lever onlyin respective selected aligned drum positions.

4. A fluid flow control device, comprising a cylindrical casing, a drumrotatable in the easing, a plurality of transverse passages in said drumhaving their openings on the periphery of said drum, a plurality ofports leading from said cylinder, said openings of said passage and saidports on said cylinder being substantially equally spacedcircumferentially for selective alignment of said passages with saidports according to the relative angular position of said drum and saidcylinder, and a system of conduits being connected to said ports forconducting the flow through selected drum passages, a fluid pumpconnected to certain conduits of said system for conveying fluid underpressure, other conduits of said system being connected to the intake ofsaid fluid pump for return flow, and the remaining ports and conduitsbeing connected to devices operable by said fluid pressure, said pumphaving an intake and an outlet, connected into said conduit system,bypass means to bypass pump pressure for said system and to circulatethe fluid within the pump, a mechanism for releasing said bypass meansat will, and opening the pump outlet to said conduit system, and anactuating element for said mechanism being operable only when thepassages of said drum are aligned with selected ports of said system.

5. A fluid flow control device, comprising a cylindrical casing, a drumrotatable in the easing, a plurality of transverse passages in said drumhaving their openings on the periphery of said drum, a plurality ofports leading from said cylinder, said openings of said passages andsaid ports on said cylinder being substantially equally spaced'circumferentially for selective alignment Of said passages with saidports according to the relative angular position of said drum and saidcylinder, an adjusting disc for turning said drum relatively to saidcylinder, said disc having circumferential slits spaced apart at thesame circumferential angle as the position of said operating ports, anormall open pump bypass passage to bypass the fluid flow, a bypassvalve adapted to close said bypass passage and to direct fluid flowunder pressure to said cylinder, and a valve operating element abuttingagainst the periphery of said disc except when one of said slits isaligned therewith and operating said bypass valve to close said passagewhen said element is depressed into said aligned slit.

ALEX s. RITTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,538,167 Chappell et al May 19,1925 1,580,318 Nordenskjold Apr. 13, 1926 1,968,422 Proctor et a1 July31, 1934 2,042,186 Peterson May 26, 1936 2,085,688 Schuchman et a1. June29, 1937 2,111,134 Allin Mar. 15, 1938 2,165,096 Frechette July 4, 19392,182,459 Vickers Dec. 5, 1939 2,313,438 Hoelscher Mar. 9, 1943

